8 Free Throws. At what point does someone important start complaining about this? I get that Doug isn’t going to; time for the new owners to step up I think.
They really, really miss Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand
Without their ability to pass out of the post/post-up/make open mid-range jumpers, the half-court offense stalls entirely too easily, and Boss, Iggy, etc. revert to bad habits (particularly Boss – he was in full on YMCA-adult-league-putrid-chucker mode tonight). They were flat out unwatchable for stretches in this game.
Yes, but – they probably get more than 8 fts with those guys. One of the primary ways you generate FTs is by taking the ball to the cup off the pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop, and they haven’t been able to run nearly as many of those plays without Hawes and Brand.
You do if you don’t pass it to the guy who “pops”. Having a guy who does, and is a credible threat to make the jumper, draws the defender out of position, making him more likely to foul if the driver keeps the ball.
In tonight’s game at least, foul trouble was a big reason. Gasol just abused both those guys on the defensive end, and they had to sit out long stretches from about the midway point of the second quarter on in favor of Tony Battie, who is a threat neither to roll to the basket nor to hit the mid-range jumper and is hence useless in this situation. Allen, when he was on the court, was one of the few guys who did play well offensively, and he was hitting the midrange jumpshot.
their front court was weak from the start of the season. this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.
Knowing the sixers, they wont address it.
Actually that is completely FALSE. The Sixers front court was their strength, believe it or not, with the Center and PF’s producing very high PER ratings, whereas the backcourt apart for Lou was very average with PER’s around the league average of 15.
Of course Hawes has been out for more games than he’s been in, Vucevic still doesn’t get enough PT, and Brand gets overworked thanks to the absence of Hawes.
Obviously none of these guys are at Dwight Howard’s level, but for journeyman Centers they are great. Hardest position to draft for a real big that can do it all down low.
I think, when healthy, the Sixers have an above average collection of big men. No real dominant rebounder/shot-blocker type, but they are all above-average offensive players and nobody’s a genuine stiff on the defensive end.
With the kind of team they have, though, all the parts have to be working smoothly or else the engine seizes right up on the offensive end of the floor. And right now they are missing some key parts.
Our defense is elite, and has been consistent throughout the season. Our offense is clearly incredibly inconsistent – when it’s on we’re a top team in the league, when it’s not we’re close to mediocre.
Ah well, sometimes teams get into slumps. I’m sure we will come out flying after the All-Star break and all will be right with the world again. /Positivity!
Doug just said – ‘In hindsight maybe I shouldn’t have started Noce.’ Although this statement would appear to be the truest, most obvious statement made about the sixers all season, in the same place Andy never would have said it.
That is kind of a slap in the face to Noce and that’s really not fair to him. Just because a guy “fails” in a position you never should have put him in, doesn’t mean it’s ok to throw him under the bus.
I just hope he doesn’t get too frustrated. This is still a very young team, they were bound to hit a rough patch sooner or later. He needs to explain to them what they need to do to correct their mistakes and improve, rather than blowing up on them and causing them to tune him out. Hopefully he’s mellowed enough at this point in his career that he can do so.
I’m not a hater. He has us playing really great D, and this team has never been that great in the halfcourt. Lulls happen, but overall we’re better this year than last.
-Doesn’t run a pick and roll…rather that dumb “two bigs up top get the ball waste 10 seconds just to get the ball back in a guards hands in the same spot” deal
-Lou Will is god awful in 66% of games
-ET has got to get more run and be allowed to take it to the hole (which seemingly no one else is interested in doing)
-Nocioni starting…he officially lost me
The Sixers don’t run a coherent offense. The pick and roll is an advanced play for a team like the Sixers sadly. There was a point in the fourth quater where three guys were baround the three point line and the ball handler slightly inside it and one guy inside. The three guys around the three point line just stood there. Doug is horrible offensive x and o guy.
When the team is healthy, they had a great rhythm on offense, threatening with one player, then swinging the ball to the open man. Now with the injuries there is no inside threat at all and the wing players go into ISO mode rather than running plays.
I am very unhappy with Doug, he’s not really adapting well and coming up with absurd lineups. Too bad I don’t know these guys. The owners should make me a guest coach and I would sit on the bench and call the plays and talk about the game with Doug and why I put in Turner instead of Iguodala and why I would keep playing Vucevic and keep calling his number.
Not that I’m anywhere near the coach Doug is, but sometimes he seems to suffer from brain-lock. It’s a long season and the injury to Hawes is starting to catch up with Brand. Even though Lavoy and Vuce have been very pleasant surprises they are still very young and inexperienced and the Sixers aren’t proficient at inside-out ball.
I would run pick and rolls with any guard and Vuce and or Allen. I would work give and goes with Iguodala and Turner with the bigs. I’d figure out which of the bigs was the best spot-up outside shooter and create all kinds of match-up problems for the other team.
Do keep in mind that Doug keeps the turnovers low, which is good, but a big part of that is that his offense is very low-risk. When the shooters are hitting it’s a thing of beauty, but when they need an easy bucket to get off the snide, they don’t have anything like a good play to run. That’s their primary problem, how to ensure the offense doesn’t get stale.
ET is not exactly making the most of the time he’s getting either. He seems to be just dribbling the ball around and then maybe bricking a shot. He’s not really facilitating much which is what I thought his strength was going to be.
You are right, ET is not making the most of his time. My opinion is that this is because Collins has specifically told him not to drive and be aggressive and rather to take the open mid-range shots that he’s given since it will result in less turnovers (which apparently is Doug’s main sticking point on offense). I think Turner is at his best with the ball in his hands driving aggressively as he did against Denver and Miami earlier in the season.
Following the Chernobyl incident, plant workers and first responders tragically underestimated the radiation levels because those levels so vastly exceeded the recording capacity of the detectors on hand.
its really shocking to me to see doug being so successful this season in teaching a professional approach to defense and attitude, but just fall completely short in the offensive game.
the simplest offensive rule in basketball, pass it to the open man, is really really lacking on this team in this unfortunate down stretch. there was a play just in the 4th quarter where thad found jrue along the baseline opposite the basket from him, and jrue shoveled it off to lavoy lumbering down the lane so quickly no grizzly was able to react. easy deuce.
what happens a few plays later? jrue feeds the ball to lou in transition up ahead on the arc, who promptly cuts through 2 defenders to launch a runner up over marc which hit the glass on the far side of the bucket harmlessly. conley brings the ball down, and calmly finds rudy gay on the perimeter for a no-hestiation 3. swish.
if this teams philosophy is going to be to shoot jumpers (which is already flawed in a lot of ways), they need to do so effectively. catch and shoot situations, the shooter shouldn’t even be thinking about what he can do with the ball, if you’re wide open (like the sixers shooters often are), take the shot. even if you miss its going to be closer than when they hold it for a second (or worse dip in and actually close the gap themselves), they’re doing the defenders work for them. make them respect the fact that you’re going to take a jumper, make some open ones, drive on their asses to mix it up.
also completely tired of seeing turner bastardized. even if he doesn’t get the minutes that i feel like he should, at least give him the leash to get involved in the game. jrue looked similarly lost in mid-finish of the 4th.
i get that there are some things that should regress
but i also think there has been a muddling of roles lately, where guys don’t seem to know whats expected of them in offensive situations when they don’t have the wind at their back. when play gets tight, and execution becomes important, a better undertstanding of roles really benefits your team play. these guys look genuinely lost when they’re struggling, maybe i’m wrong here, but that doesn’t feel indiicative of their level of talent.
I told some of you guys to slow down on the legitimate contender kool-aid. We are still a good team, just not elite. We’re going through a bad stretch but we’ll bounce back. Definitely issues that have to be addressed though.
i’m calling for kamen. he’s on the trading block. expiring contract if it doesn’t workout. give em noc, one of these soft rookies, and the draft pick we got for speights.
Time to regroup.
andyreidswaistline - February 21, 2012
Just…do better against the Rockets tomorrow. Please.
TwistyWristy - February 21, 2012
Rockets are my second favorite team in the NBA. I guess this would be a bit bearable for me.
secondroundpick - February 21, 2012
Someone chopped off Jrue’s manhood. Shooting long 2s smh
secondroundpick - February 21, 2012
Now I’m all confused – are we or not?
dp - February 21, 2012 via mobile
dp - February 21, 2012 via mobile
Not when Noce starts and Lou Williams is still on the roster.
highwaterhello - February 21, 2012
8 Free Throws. At what point does someone important start complaining about this? I get that Doug isn’t going to; time for the new owners to step up I think.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Paging Ed Snider
dp - February 21, 2012 via mobile
Jeez, it really feels like Andy Reid is rubbing off on Doug. How much longer before something gives? Or at least someone acknowledges the problem?
hhaidari - February 21, 2012
Rudy Gay went to the line more than our team. ’Nuff said.
The Crooked Man - February 21, 2012
Good Lord. I figured Brand was a sure bet for amnesty after this season…
nyunole - February 21, 2012
time to lose out for p jones
Tj Singh - February 21, 2012
He’s not near worth losing out for.
Derek Bodner - February 21, 2012
At this point we might be able to get him in the 16-17 range we’ll end up picking.
wildcatlh - February 21, 2012
he guys, we had eight, count’em, eight foul shots that game. Grizzlies had 29.
jefu - February 21, 2012
You can’t win that game. It’s impossible.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
They really, really miss Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand
Without their ability to pass out of the post/post-up/make open mid-range jumpers, the half-court offense stalls entirely too easily, and Boss, Iggy, etc. revert to bad habits (particularly Boss – he was in full on YMCA-adult-league-putrid-chucker mode tonight). They were flat out unwatchable for stretches in this game.
Xeynon - February 21, 2012
You still lose with 8 fts.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Yes, but – they probably get more than 8 fts with those guys. One of the primary ways you generate FTs is by taking the ball to the cup off the pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop, and they haven’t been able to run nearly as many of those plays without Hawes and Brand.
Xeynon - February 21, 2012
you dont take the ball to the cup off a pick-and-pop.
jefu - February 21, 2012
You do if you don’t pass it to the guy who “pops”. Having a guy who does, and is a credible threat to make the jumper, draws the defender out of position, making him more likely to foul if the driver keeps the ball.
Xeynon - February 21, 2012
sorry, meant to say if you’re the sixers you don’t take the ball to the cup.
jefu - February 21, 2012
True enough. I’d love to see Jrue develop not only more aggressiveness on the drive, but also that Sam Cassell-type knack for drawing contact.
Xeynon - February 21, 2012
Don’t get why they can’t run em with Chips and Vooch.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
slow-footed, not athletic enough.
jefu - February 21, 2012
In tonight’s game at least, foul trouble was a big reason. Gasol just abused both those guys on the defensive end, and they had to sit out long stretches from about the midway point of the second quarter on in favor of Tony Battie, who is a threat neither to roll to the basket nor to hit the mid-range jumper and is hence useless in this situation. Allen, when he was on the court, was one of the few guys who did play well offensively, and he was hitting the midrange jumpshot.
Xeynon - February 21, 2012
Agreed
Not to mention Chips and Vooch aren’t exactly NBA stalwarts yet so it’s going to take some time for them to still figure out when to cut, roll, etc.
RedHopeful - February 21, 2012
their front court was weak from the start of the season. this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.
Knowing the sixers, they wont address it.
jefu - February 21, 2012
They did draft bigs, just a weak draft overall. Not sure what our options are trade-wise.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Actually that is completely FALSE. The Sixers front court was their strength, believe it or not, with the Center and PF’s producing very high PER ratings, whereas the backcourt apart for Lou was very average with PER’s around the league average of 15.
Of course Hawes has been out for more games than he’s been in, Vucevic still doesn’t get enough PT, and Brand gets overworked thanks to the absence of Hawes.
Obviously none of these guys are at Dwight Howard’s level, but for journeyman Centers they are great. Hardest position to draft for a real big that can do it all down low.
RickoT - February 21, 2012
Agreed
I think, when healthy, the Sixers have an above average collection of big men. No real dominant rebounder/shot-blocker type, but they are all above-average offensive players and nobody’s a genuine stiff on the defensive end.
With the kind of team they have, though, all the parts have to be working smoothly or else the engine seizes right up on the offensive end of the floor. And right now they are missing some key parts.
Xeynon - February 21, 2012
Where did the team that I loved to watch play go?
&
THE DREAM IS OVER!
PhiladelphiaEagles - February 21, 2012
Where is LouWilliamsMVP now ??
highwaterhello - February 21, 2012
he got scareded and hided.
jefu - February 21, 2012
He’s crying him self to sleep while listening to the “Ima boss” freestyle on youtube.
highwaterhello - February 21, 2012
He’s sad somewhere, like the rest of us.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Jesus Christ you can say that again.
highwaterhello - February 21, 2012
playing 2k
secondroundpick - February 21, 2012
He’s in his driveway launching 35 ft 3’s
dp - February 21, 2012 via mobile
lol
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Hahaha
TwistyWristy - February 21, 2012
Don’t forget the silky floaters that glide right past the hoop.
nyunole - February 21, 2012
He just likes an extra 3 feet of arc on his floaters for effect.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
+1
jefu - February 21, 2012
*fadeaway 35ft 3s
PhillyWarrior - February 21, 2012
3 seconds too early
DirtyWaters - February 21, 2012
I did not realize this...
PhiladelphiaEagles - February 21, 2012
Didn’t he have a dunk in this one?
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
disagree. he thinks he’s kobe bryant.
jefu - February 21, 2012
#clutch
secondroundpick - February 21, 2012
Coward!
dp - February 21, 2012 via mobile
AllStar
RedHopeful - February 21, 2012
On how many FG attempts?
jkrisch - February 22, 2012
I’m thinking we petition Will Smith to call out the refs.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
I’m thinking more on the lines of Gnarls Barkley.
secondroundpick - February 21, 2012
Speights 6 free throws - Sixers entire team 8 free throws
As long as the coach is OK with this, and the players keep playing a soft finesse basketball, there is no hope.
PhillyWarrior - February 21, 2012
*soft finesse brand of basketball
PhillyWarrior - February 21, 2012
these losses are starting to hurt more and more
Tj Singh - February 21, 2012
usually losses don’t hurt. weird.
jefu - February 21, 2012
I really thought this one would break the losing streak. It’s the hope that makes it hurt.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Is it possible we just played above our heads early against bad opponents and are just an average team with some young talent
109876ers - February 21, 2012 via mobile
*Above average
Everything else is correct.
PhillyWarrior - February 21, 2012
The offense has NO flow or identity…no slasher…our “3pt specialist” sometimes shows up..and I don’t feel like jrue makes his teammates better
109876ers - February 21, 2012 via mobile
Our defense is elite, and has been consistent throughout the season. Our offense is clearly incredibly inconsistent – when it’s on we’re a top team in the league, when it’s not we’re close to mediocre.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Doug just refused to talk about FTs again.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Lol
RedHopeful - February 21, 2012
Was he asked?
RedHopeful - February 21, 2012
“What do you want me to say?” “Gotta get contact. Shoot.”
The media is asking the right questions, Doug owes us answers.
PhillyWarrior - February 21, 2012
Does he not understand the correlation between driving the lane and free throws?
EREX21 - February 22, 2012
Ah well, sometimes teams get into slumps. I’m sure we will come out flying after the All-Star break and all will be right with the world again. /Positivity!
TwistyWristy - February 21, 2012
Doug = Andy
This sucks.
Clint Eastwood - February 21, 2012 via mobile
He's acting like him, jerkish
I’ll take a trip to the NBA Finals or ECF, though.
PhillyWarrior - February 21, 2012
Nope.
Doug just said – ‘In hindsight maybe I shouldn’t have started Noce.’ Although this statement would appear to be the truest, most obvious statement made about the sixers all season, in the same place Andy never would have said it.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Milk was a bad choice.
nyunole - February 21, 2012
Ouch.
NoceOne - February 21, 2012
That is kind of a slap in the face to Noce and that’s really not fair to him. Just because a guy “fails” in a position you never should have put him in, doesn’t mean it’s ok to throw him under the bus.
EREX21 - February 22, 2012
Thanks for the consideration.
Its hard being a fan of a player in Noce’s position.
but we appreciate small stuff acts of kindness (like this one). :-)
NoceOne - February 22, 2012
Hmmm. I've been looking for the clip of this.
Was this statement implied?
Coz there is this clip where a reporter says Battie played well and Collins answered that maybe he should have started him.
NoceOne - February 22, 2012
Might have been that one, I remember him talking about Battie at the time. I guess that’s a little less harsh, but it’s basically the same thing.
J.P.Melle - February 28, 2012
highwaterhello - February 21, 2012
Remember when Dougie stole our hearts? Never coached for a team longer than 3 years.
secondroundpick - February 21, 2012
I just hope he doesn’t get too frustrated. This is still a very young team, they were bound to hit a rough patch sooner or later. He needs to explain to them what they need to do to correct their mistakes and improve, rather than blowing up on them and causing them to tune him out. Hopefully he’s mellowed enough at this point in his career that he can do so.
Xeynon - February 21, 2012
He hasn’t looked mellow lately.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
Word
He has gone from a sage, understanding mentor of young players to a frazzled, cranky old fart. He needs the break as much as the players do.
bebopdeluxe - February 21, 2012
Gotta admit I was always a hater. His track record is garbage to go along with picking on players he doesn’t like (Theo Ratliff, Speights, Turner).
splinter27 - February 21, 2012
I’m not a hater. He has us playing really great D, and this team has never been that great in the halfcourt. Lulls happen, but overall we’re better this year than last.
J.P.Melle - February 22, 2012
Doug Collins
-Doesn’t run a pick and roll…rather that dumb “two bigs up top get the ball waste 10 seconds just to get the ball back in a guards hands in the same spot” deal
-Lou Will is god awful in 66% of games
-ET has got to get more run and be allowed to take it to the hole (which seemingly no one else is interested in doing)
-Nocioni starting…he officially lost me
LeJclair1 - February 21, 2012
The Sixers don’t run a coherent offense. The pick and roll is an advanced play for a team like the Sixers sadly. There was a point in the fourth quater where three guys were baround the three point line and the ball handler slightly inside it and one guy inside. The three guys around the three point line just stood there. Doug is horrible offensive x and o guy.
Brannigan1973 - February 21, 2012
Yea…its depressing…the pick and roll between jrue and thaddeus could be a thing of beauty…
LeJclair1 - February 21, 2012
When the team is healthy, they had a great rhythm on offense, threatening with one player, then swinging the ball to the open man. Now with the injuries there is no inside threat at all and the wing players go into ISO mode rather than running plays.
I am very unhappy with Doug, he’s not really adapting well and coming up with absurd lineups. Too bad I don’t know these guys. The owners should make me a guest coach and I would sit on the bench and call the plays and talk about the game with Doug and why I put in Turner instead of Iguodala and why I would keep playing Vucevic and keep calling his number.
Not that I’m anywhere near the coach Doug is, but sometimes he seems to suffer from brain-lock. It’s a long season and the injury to Hawes is starting to catch up with Brand. Even though Lavoy and Vuce have been very pleasant surprises they are still very young and inexperienced and the Sixers aren’t proficient at inside-out ball.
I would run pick and rolls with any guard and Vuce and or Allen. I would work give and goes with Iguodala and Turner with the bigs. I’d figure out which of the bigs was the best spot-up outside shooter and create all kinds of match-up problems for the other team.
Do keep in mind that Doug keeps the turnovers low, which is good, but a big part of that is that his offense is very low-risk. When the shooters are hitting it’s a thing of beauty, but when they need an easy bucket to get off the snide, they don’t have anything like a good play to run. That’s their primary problem, how to ensure the offense doesn’t get stale.
RickoT - February 21, 2012
It’s been decided. Ricko is now coach of the Sixers.
Michael Levin - February 21, 2012
ET is not exactly making the most of the time he’s getting either. He seems to be just dribbling the ball around and then maybe bricking a shot. He’s not really facilitating much which is what I thought his strength was going to be.
Noc starting makes no f’ing sense. Ever.
HermosaPhilly - February 21, 2012
You are right, ET is not making the most of his time. My opinion is that this is because Collins has specifically told him not to drive and be aggressive and rather to take the open mid-range shots that he’s given since it will result in less turnovers (which apparently is Doug’s main sticking point on offense). I think Turner is at his best with the ball in his hands driving aggressively as he did against Denver and Miami earlier in the season.
LeJclair1 - February 21, 2012
LWHAI
Following the Chernobyl incident, plant workers and first responders tragically underestimated the radiation levels because those levels so vastly exceeded the recording capacity of the detectors on hand.
Fire engine red just doesn’t cut it tonight.
nyunole - February 21, 2012
This team needs to stop yapping at the officials including the coach. They sure complain a lot it doesn’t help there cause.
Brannigan1973 - February 21, 2012
My car got towed today too. Just a really terrible Tuesday. Here’s hoping Wednesday’s an improvement.
J.P.Melle - February 21, 2012
lack of discipline
its really shocking to me to see doug being so successful this season in teaching a professional approach to defense and attitude, but just fall completely short in the offensive game.
the simplest offensive rule in basketball, pass it to the open man, is really really lacking on this team in this unfortunate down stretch. there was a play just in the 4th quarter where thad found jrue along the baseline opposite the basket from him, and jrue shoveled it off to lavoy lumbering down the lane so quickly no grizzly was able to react. easy deuce.
what happens a few plays later? jrue feeds the ball to lou in transition up ahead on the arc, who promptly cuts through 2 defenders to launch a runner up over marc which hit the glass on the far side of the bucket harmlessly. conley brings the ball down, and calmly finds rudy gay on the perimeter for a no-hestiation 3. swish.
if this teams philosophy is going to be to shoot jumpers (which is already flawed in a lot of ways), they need to do so effectively. catch and shoot situations, the shooter shouldn’t even be thinking about what he can do with the ball, if you’re wide open (like the sixers shooters often are), take the shot. even if you miss its going to be closer than when they hold it for a second (or worse dip in and actually close the gap themselves), they’re doing the defenders work for them. make them respect the fact that you’re going to take a jumper, make some open ones, drive on their asses to mix it up.
also completely tired of seeing turner bastardized. even if he doesn’t get the minutes that i feel like he should, at least give him the leash to get involved in the game. jrue looked similarly lost in mid-finish of the 4th.
pqrk - February 21, 2012
Well put. Seems like every perimeter player on the team does this.
PhillyWarrior - February 21, 2012
The Sixers lack talent. No post scorers. No one can draw fouls except Lou. No pure pg. No legit SG. No athletic big who can finish in traffic.
They won earlier despite a lack of talent when compared to the other winning teams. Depth is not talent. Now they are refreshing back to the mean.
Sorry about the fools gold. They fool us every year with a good stretch of 25 games.
tk76 - February 21, 2012
Refreshing should read regressing
tk76 - February 21, 2012
The All-Star Break should refresh us!
Michael Levin - February 21, 2012
i get that there are some things that should regress
but i also think there has been a muddling of roles lately, where guys don’t seem to know whats expected of them in offensive situations when they don’t have the wind at their back. when play gets tight, and execution becomes important, a better undertstanding of roles really benefits your team play. these guys look genuinely lost when they’re struggling, maybe i’m wrong here, but that doesn’t feel indiicative of their level of talent.
pqrk - February 21, 2012
I told some of you guys to slow down on the legitimate contender kool-aid. We are still a good team, just not elite. We’re going through a bad stretch but we’ll bounce back. Definitely issues that have to be addressed though.
jrb5094 - February 21, 2012
need to make a deal.
i’m calling for kamen. he’s on the trading block. expiring contract if it doesn’t workout. give em noc, one of these soft rookies, and the draft pick we got for speights.
cifdog - February 22, 2012
That’s silly. We’re not winning a championship with Kaman, why give up depth and future prospects?
J.P.Melle - February 22, 2012
the rule is, if you can’t spell the guy’s name correctly, you’re not allowed to propose trades with him.
jefu - February 22, 2012
that’s hardly anything valuable. noc who’s not playing, and two 2nd rounders (lavoy allen being one).
cifdog - February 22, 2012
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